New Delhi: Sony Pictures Networks India’s children’s channel, YAY!, is working to expand the licensing and commercialization of its own intellectual property (IPs) and those it acquires through collaborations with American and Japanese companies, a top executive at the company said.
Sony YAY! will launch products across categories including apparel, footwear and beanbags featuring characters like Oggy, Honey Bunny and Naruto in partnership with companies like The Souled Store. Right from the early stages, Sony is aware of the challenges posed by the flourishing piracy in this sector.
“This is a big shift for us as our core business is broadcasting and the first touchpoint for our children’s vertical is television. However, we found that while television is an inexpensive medium to reach an audience, it is not necessarily consumed by all age groups or children,” said Leena Lele Dutta, Managing Director at Sony YAY!, in an interview.
Dutta added that IPs have a shelf life outside of television, and licensing and merchandising is one of the easiest revenue streams to tap when the company owns its real estate.
The channel began integrating some product licenses with Free Commercial Time (FCT) partners two years ago and has now evolved into a full dialogue to independently represent other brands for the L&M business.
Dutta said the company is evaluating IPs in the US and Japan, including companies specializing in anime or those with a significant YouTube presence.
Sony YAY! looks at franchise games Kicko & Super Speedo and Honey Bunny which come with Zapak, Oggy, Honey Bunny, Kicko & Super Speedo, Guru Aur Bhole themed bean bags and wardrobe with Comfy Bean Bag, Naruto themed SKUs (Storage Units ) are to be introduced ) with The Souled Store, which, among other things, are to be sold both online and offline. The company is also in discussions with various Reliance Industries brands to license products across all categories.
Of course, the licensing and merchandising market remains a niche in India, with companies like Walt Disney thriving thanks to IPs like Marvel (iron man, Captain America And avenger), Luke films (war of stars), Pixar (cars) and Disney (The jungle Book). Still, there is a huge illegal market that runs parallel to licensed brands.
Several entertainment companies, including film and cricket, have attempted the L&M model with little success, with the category generating less than 2% of total revenues despite the fan base of the celebrities involved. Pricing remains crucial, and consumers’ willingness to pay high prices is typically low, according to media industry experts.
“Piracy is a challenge we cannot ignore or do anything about. We have only just started our journey into the market, but we see great potential in it. It’s also a low-hanging fruit for us because we don’t invest anything, we just partner with vendors under a revenue-sharing model. We will make a committed push in the coming financial year,” said Dutta.
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